What are the chances of that?

Three weeks ago, before I was unemployed(!), I went to Yeoville for a meeting. It was an "eventful" day, and the icing on the cake was standing at Yeoville Junction station in the pouring rain waiting for a taxi and realising that a) I'd left my best scarf on the train (Christmas present from my ex) and that b) I had lost one of my ear rings. Now, if you have read my blog previously, you will be aware that I own quite a lot of single ear rings and in the main, that's fine because I buy cheap tat! However, these were posh earrings and were my 40th Birthday present from Mum and Dad.

Suffice it to say I was a quite fed up about this. I made enquiries of the train company and the "end of the line" station, but no, they had no scarf or lonely ear ring (which I had assumed had attached itself to my scarf and therefore they would both be together). They did however have a pink umbrella ...?

Yesterday, I was walking back from Staples with some more packing boxes. It was bloomin' cold, the sun was bright and low, and everything was sparkling with frost. It was lovely. What was even more lovely was that I just happened to glance down at the pavement and spotted something that looked familiar. My lost ear ring! Its all a bit squashed but essentially not in too bad shape! What are the chances of that?

Wonder if my scarf has been handed in??

*Sigh*

Look at my horoscope for today ...

"In your profession, you'll be able to neutralize the difficulties and obstacles that have obstructed you until now. If you ask for a pay raise, it will be granted to you."

Now that's what I call timing, bearing in mind that I'm no longer employed.

Good job I don't believe in any of this stuff!

:)

Good Morning ...

I finished work last Friday - yippee! I didn’t get everything done that I wanted to, but I did my best. I had a splendid “do” that evening, and then spent most of the weekend simply vegetating (and getting my home laptop back up and running after the dead hard drive incident), I wasn’t capable of much else to be honest I’m absolutely shattered for some reason. Anyway, I’m looking forward to emptying my head of work and filling it with packing and travel plans etc.

So Monday morning dawns and here I lie, looking forward to luxuriating in a much longed-for extended Monday morning snooze. Enter the “Law of Sod” in the form of a persistent banging (of the DIY kind!) emanating from next door. Oh well, guess I may as well get up and do something useful then …

Size matters

Surely it is not beyond the wit of man for clothing manufacturers to define what measurements should be applied to a garment in order for it to be called a particular size and then make the clothes to those measurements. However, it seems that it is.

As I have alluded to in previous posts, I have put on weight of late. I’m happy about this, as I’m aware that I have probably been underweight for the majority of my adult life. However, no matter how much I tried I couldn’t do anything about it, I was just naturally slim. For whatever reason (hitting 40 / getting through a stressful period in my life and finally starting to feel content?), not sure which really, I am now heavier than I’ve ever been. Having accepted that I’m not likely to lose it again I have set about the task of buying new clothes that fit.

How difficult can that be? I mean you go to the shops, pick up a selection of clothes in your size that you like the look of and try them on don’t you? Well I’ve obviously missed something somewhere because in spite of picking up three pairs of jeans, in the same shop, all labelled as the same cut (boot cut in this case), all the same size but just different colours, and different pocket arrangements, the difference between each pair was enormous.

The first pair fitted (apart from gaping at the back, but hey, I’ll just have to wear a top long enough to cover it). The second pair however, just couldn’t be enticed over my hips let alone getting as far as doing up the zip and the button … And the third pair were roomy enough for me to invite a friend to join me in there! I double checked the sizes inside the 2 ill-fitting pairs, just in case they’d been put on the wrong hangers, but no, they both purported to be size 8 regular.

Obviously, I bought the pair that fitted. However, when I got them home and took the labels off I noticed that in spite of them being on a size 8 hanger, the label on the inside said that they were a size 6. What nonsense!

I don’t actually care what size I am, they can label them banana size, orange size, apple size for all I care. I just want to know what the size is and to be able to buy clothes in that size and allowing for differences in style and cut, know that they will fit in an approximate way. Is that too much to ask?

Incidentally, (ever the clothing hoarder), my “going away" suit which I still have and which I bought from the same shop that I just bought my new jeans from 13 years ago when I was nearly 2 stone lighter than I am now, also claim to be size 8.

What’s all that about eh?

Let the training begin ...

As you may have noticed, I've a got a few things planned for New Zealand next year; not least a 10 day trek down the west coast of New Zealand's south island. I found it on the RealGap website, but then realised that I'm too old ... My Thailand trip is booked via Gap Year for Grownups so I looked for a similar trip there - only for old people like myself ... But no. The grownup version looks great, but it looks a bit too "molly coddled" for my taste, is also twice as expensive as the young person version and the dates don't work.

So I did a bit more research and found the exact same trek (young person's version) being offered by a NZ company who didn't have an age limit. Hurray - maybe I could do it after all!? Before I made my booking I spotted the "health and fitness" link on their website...

What makes the trip great is that it will be proper camping, away from middle aged Japanese tourists, fantastic hiking, fantastic off the main track surroundings etc. However, what has made me reconsider a moment is that fact that the trip involves 3 multi-day hikes which means we'll be carrying everything - tents, food and our own gear. The estimate is a pack weight of 12kg and the longest hiking is 7 hours ... Hmmmmmmm Am I fit enough?

So, I've filled my rucksack with towels and pillows wrapped around my dumbells and I've embarked upon a wee training regime. 3.5km this morning, the rucksack was 14 kg and it took me c. 45mins. Not great, but for a weedy bird I didn't think it was too bad - room to improve but not disastrous! Incidentally, I know how heavy the rucksack is because I bought some weighing scales yesterday for the purpose of checking the pack weight. However, one unpleasant side effect of purchasing scales was seeing my own weight! Oh dear ... Of course, having to buy bigger clothes should have been a bit of a give away, but seeing the reality of it, glowing in all its hideous LCD glory was a bit depressing.

Using the old "calories in, calories out" calculation: I haven't started eating or drinking any more than I used to, and I can't stop taking some medication I'm on (which I think may be contributing somewhat), therefore the only side of the equation that I can do something about is the calories out bit. Fingers crossed it'll work ... I really don't like the insides of my thighs rubbing together and the emergency walking lunges didn't really have much of an effect, so I reckon I'm going to have to be focussed and hopefully reap the benefits all round and am going to give it a couple of weeks before I decide to book the walk or not ...

New Zealand Ideas

14 days exploring North Island.

To include:

Auckland

Caves and glow worms

Gloopy mud stuff & hot springs

Tandem sky dive over Lake Taupo

New Zealand Festival in Wellington

Wine tasting in Hawkes Bay

Couple of days hiking

Chilling on a beach

10 days treking down the West Coast of South Island

Day 1 Nelson / Flora Saddle /Kahurangi National Park – 11km/4 hours hiking Overnighting in an old goldminers’ rock shelter.
Day 2 Wednesday sinkholes and caves /Gordon’s Pyramid / Mount Arthur Buller Gorge – 15km/7 hours hiking
Day 3 Cape Foulwind / New Zealand fur seals / Charleston / hike up a limestone river canyon in Paparoa National Park. During our hike we learn river-crossing techniques, collect firewood along the way and set up camp under the massive Ballroom Overhang. – 12km/6 hours hiking
Day 4 Limestone canyon and caves / Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks)/ Hokitika Ross – 8km/5 hours hiking
Day 5 Franz Josef Glacier /Okarito – 10km/4 hours hiking
Day 6 Okarito – 10km/4 hours kayaking, evening meal cooked in a hangi, an underground Maori earth oven.
Day 7 Copland Valley - Welcome Flat – 18km/7 hours hiking across swing-bridges and mountain streams ending up with a soak in the natural hot pools with vies of 3000m peaks.
Day 8 Welcome Flat – either 8km/4 hours hiking or REST
Day 9 Moeraki – 18km/6 hours hiking
Day 10 Ship Creek / Lake Hawea / ending in Queenstown – 3km/2 hours hiking

Is this the right Daemon for me?

Very brief update

You know, sometimes there's so much going on, there's too much to tell. So here's a list of the past and the future:

• The house is sold
• I've handed in my notice at work
• I finish work on 7th December - have a good leaving do in the planning
• I then pack, put things into storage and terminate the tenancy on the house
• 17th January: fly to Thailand
• 16th February: fly to New Zealand
• blah March: fly to Australia
• blah April: fly back to UK

More details to follow when I've worked them out - which I'm really looking forward to. For those who know me, the "planning" is almost as exciting as the "doing"! However, I think this one is going to far outshine anything I've ever done before.

Sigh ....

It appears that for the first time in 40 years, the insides of my thighs rub together and I can't say that I enjoy the sensation ...

Emergency walking lunges have been deployed and I'm considering lowering my alcohol in-take.

con·sid·er

1. To think carefully about.
2. To think or deem to be; regard as.
3. To form an opinion about; judge: considers waste to be criminal.
4. To take into account; bear in mind.
5. To show consideration for.
6. To esteem; regard.
7. To look at thoughtfully.

That doesn't mean I actually will ... Just means I'll consider it!

He's gone ...

... and I nearly didn't get a chance to say goodbye. I have to say that I've been spending much of my time unimpressed with the organisations who I've had to deal with over the Wedgie affair.

Insurance company: a serial non communication led to me finding out by accident - purely because I took it upon myself to call the garage he'd been taken to to be assessed - that he'd been declared a total loss and would be taken for salvage the next morning. I belted over to the garage to say my goodbyes (atmospherically in the pouring rain …) plus retrieve my tax disc, parking permit, map, stereo walkman and speakers - the latter 2 items I discovered to have been nicked ... Hey, it was cutting it fine and I was exceptionally cross with Direct Line for not keeping me up-to-date, but at least I did get to say goodbye.

The police: I still hadn't heard from anyone to tell me what had actually happened. Right at the beginning they’d said there had been a crash. OK - but I had questions: had there been another car involved, did anyone get hurt? I rang the number I had been given right at the beginning and asked to speak to my case officer. “Oh, looks like he's passed it to someone else in Croydon, I'll put you through”. 20 minutes on hold.

I finally managed to attract the attention of the operator who kept saying "sorry to keep you" approximately every 2 minutes and asked for the number that I was being put through to so I could try myself later. I tried on and off consistently from 0850 to 1530. I tried other Croydon station numbers who all pointed me back to that same number and said they were unable to give me any other method of contacting the officer working on my case. In the end I called the number I had rung first thing in the morning in the hope that they might be able to help. I was advised by an embarrssed sounding young officer that I had been given the wrong number (by 3 different people would you believe ...) by way of apology he offered to read me the report and promised to get my new case officer to ring with a full update.

The gist of it is: 3 men stole my car and were chased by a police vehicle. They tried to ram said police car and then ended up ploughing into a grassy bank. They then legged it and were chased on foot. 1 got away and 2 were caught; 1 of these was released with no charge and the other has been bailed to return on 3rd November. Apparently this was to allow time for more investigation and forensics work ... They'll have a job bearing in mind its already been taken for salvage! I pointed this out, at which point the officer said, well if he can’t keep track of his evidence then he’s going to lose his case isn’t he? My case I think you’ll find. As I say – I’m not impressed.

So, I await official settlement, grapple with the forms and leave you with a picture of Wedgie from the side where you'd almost think there was nothing wrong with him ...

The other side's not so good though and I can't bear to show you rest ...

Back on the trail

Nope, not the Inca Trail for which sadly training has been a bit haphazard of late - the falling over illness (which I'm still not quite over I don't think), not having a car to get out and do a proper walk etc; no, rather the trail for somewhere else to live.

As the house is still not sold, I needed to extend the tenancy on the flat. However, I don't want to live here anymore - I don't feel safe on my own, there's something dodgy going on at the pub across the street, someone was knifed in a gang related incident just opposite the gate to my flat and then there's the whole Wedgie thing ... My tenancy was set to run out at the end of October, so I figured that as I'm not here at the end of November and therefore won't be here to move out, I would just steel myself and extend to the end of December .

Well I found out last weekend (just before I got the letter telling me I had to pay to release my stolen car from police custody) that I can either extend to the end of November (which is no use to me) or next March ... I really don't want to still be here next March.

So I'm back on the flat trail. I've spent a couple of nights this week on viewings and spent most of yesterday doing the same thing. At least I'm getting a lot of walking in!

I've decided to look at various areas of Surrey. Not because I work in Epsom (heaven forbid!), but because I have some friends in that area, its easier to get to visit my sister, its closer to my mate in Windsor and I can quickly get to country side. I particularly like Kingston - close to Richmond Park, Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace, good shopping and only 30 mins into Waterloo for the City stuff. Not sure I can afford it though!

I had 1 complete wasted journey (Wednesday night) where I scrambled out of work to get to Norbiton for an appointment at 6.30, only to get a call at 6.25 to say that the flat had been let. Sigh. So I hung around on the streets to see the second flat at 7pm. General feel of this particular area wasn't good - I didn't really feel comfortable, the flat had no parking and was right on a bus stop. When I finally got to see the flat I was frankly shocked. It had been described as a large one bed flat. Curious use of the term large ... You could have fit the whole flat into the living room of my house and they wanted £750 pcm. Suffice it to say I didn't take it!

Saturday was a better day - looking in Kingston again. The first flat I saw was beautiful - immaculate, lovely kitchen, somewhere to park a car, quiet street and 15 mins walk to the station. However, whilst it was a large 1 bed conversion, because of the configuration of built in cupboards, chimney brests and radiators, I couldn't work out how I was going to fit my furniture in ... Plus it seemed to be a lot of money for just one bedroom.

The second flat unfortunately had been let which left me with 90mins to kill while waiting for my next appointment. So I used it as an opportunity to check out the shops! Of course I didn't spend anything, but I had a good old mooch and a bag of chips (what a treat).

I walked to the next appointment which turned into a comedy 60 mins. I met a completely nuts agent called Shelly who called me dahhling and lovey at every turn and couldn't manage to get the flat open that I was going to view. She pushed and shoved the key, but to no avail. I offered to have a look and once in front of the lock could see that there was something stuck in it so the key was never going to go in. There was however another flat in the same block, which whilst not as nice as the one I was supposed to be seeing would give me an idea of the layout and the size etc. So we viewed that flat and it was huge. Two big bedrooms, large living room and kitchen and only £15 pcm more than the one bed I'd seen earlier in the day.

Anyway, we agreed that I would go back on Monday night to see the correct flat once she'd sorted out the lock and by way of apology she offered to give me a lift back to the station. She regaled me with tales of walking in on copulating couples, people who said they wouldn't be in but were snoring under the duvet during the viewing and the time she chased after a prospective tenant in her car who was supposed to be following her to a viewing on his bike but they had got separated. When she finally flagged him down she realised she had been following the wrong cyclist who accused her of stalking him - "Well they all look the same in those hats dahling ..."

We were just coming the end of a road where a friend of mine lives when she lurched to a halt and said - "I've just remembered I've got a 2 bed in that road there - would you like to see it? It would be a shame for you to have come all this way and not see anything ..."

So we raced off to the office (literally - 50 year old woman racer ...) and she picked up the keys and we viewed the flat. Its lovely, but I really don't know if I can afford it. There is a garage for a car, the kitchen is great, there's plenty of room for all my furniture, its in a nice quite road which is 10 minutes walk to Kingston Gate of Richmond Park one way, Kingston Station and the cinema in another and the river in another.

The agent thinks that the landlord might take an offer as "he's very fussy" and "he'd rather do an offer for the right tenant", apparently he thinks anyone that works in IT is great, so I've got brownie points there - I'm also a woman, so I'll be tidy ... Anyway, I've made an offer which is less than he was asking including the garage (which he wanted more for ...). I have no idea if he'll take it, but I'd love to live there. We'll see ...

Wedgie ...

I still don't know the details but I was told by my case officer that Wedgie was taken by 3 youths who were known car theives. He was currently with forensics and I should have him back very soon. However, he had no detail on whether he was a wreck, although he could tell me that he had been in a police chase which resulted in a crash, so not very hopeful; however, someone would let me know soon when he would be released. The next morning I received a letter to say that the forensics had finished with it and that it was at Charlton Pound awaiting collection. The charge to have my car released was to be £105 and if I didn't collect it by midday 2 days following the date of the letter (Sunday), the cost of storage that I would incur would be £12 per day ... It was all a bit stark, unfeeling and upsetting - like it was my own fault that he'd been stolen ...

The insurance company undertook to arrange collection of the car - "is it driveable?" they asked. "I don't know - I keep asking and no-one can tell me". "Well that particular Pound don't take burnt out cars, so at least you know that much ..."

A week later, I finally got details of the garage who have the car and managed to speak to someone who had seen him. I still haven't had an official insurance engineer's assessment, but the lady I spoke to could tell me that he had been towed in and was therefore undrivable and that there was lots of damage to the front and the side plus they'd drilled bits out to get in and get it started. So, taking into account the age of the vehicle it was likley that the insurers would decide that it wasn't worth spending the money to put it right.

Whilst I was expecting this, I was really very sad. I've had Wedgie since 1993 (Wedgie because he's wedgewood blue), I've taxed, insured, serviced him and loved him. We've done lots of miles together (94,000 ...) and have been to lovely places - Jersey, France, Scotland, Durham, the Lake District (where he accomplished the Hard Knot pass with aplomb), Land's End, Lincolnshire, the Peaks - I could go on ... We hadn't been to Wales though - that was my next plan.

He is 17 years old and I was just planning on keeping him until he died a natural death, it seems terrible that his end should be being written off because he's too old to be worth investing the money in to put right. All because 3 lads wanted a bit of fun at mine and Wedgie's expense ...

So, now to work out what to do about another car ...

A list ...

• I'm paying a mortgage and rent on a flat. However I'm resourceful, I don't go anywhere unless its free (which unfortunately means I'm a bit of a hermit at the moment), I drive to work which is vastly cheaper than the train, I drive out to nice country spots and walk for my entertainment, I live frugally, I can ride it out until the house is sold ...
  
• The house has been on the market for 4 months and we've had only one viewing. Hmmmm. I've gotta keep pushing the agents and get some ideas myself of how to sell it - reduce the price get some plans drawn up to demonstrate the 2 bedrooms and a bathroom which could be developed in the loft. I'm still being positive and active.
  
• I'm going to Peru at the end of November and the money to pay for it is wrapped up in the deposit on the leaky, creaky flat I'm renting while the house is being sold. What the hell, I've broken my credit card rule and I'll do a credit card transfer thing to tide me over until the house is sold and I have some money.
  
• Its gone into meltdown at work and I'm being asked to "go the extra mile" for the sake of the company in the present difficult climate - I think you'll find that I already do was my response ... I guess I'll just cram trying to find a job into the schedule once I've had 5 minutes to consider my CV. What the hell, I can go back to IT helpdesk or do some typing or be runner on someone's event (if I can find anyone willing to take me on of course) - I'm not proud. It just has to be enough o pay a mortgage and rent on a flat and keep me in the manner to which I am accustomed ...
  
• I'm still trying to get over this flippin' vertigo thing. Whilst I'm still shattered at least I don't fall over anymore.

That should be it of stuff to cope with for the time being.

Oh no, sorry I forgot to mention that my car was stolen yesterday, used in a crime, involved in an accident and impounded.

Now I'm starting to lose the will ...

Blast from the past - no really!

I was 'strolling' along the aisles of Tesco a couple of weeks ago (well as much as you can in a hideously busy supermarket on a Saturday morning) when I came across an "offer" at the end of an row. There was a display with 2 shelves with something called Golden Weetabix on it and at the bottom a single shelf of some stuff called Oatibix.

I looked at the picture and yes, they looked like Weetabix, I checked the ingredients and yes, they were devoid of wheat ... Could it really be possible that after all these years I could re-create my previous addictive breakfast of weetabix, smidge of muscavado sugar and ice cold milk? (NB. I use a my special creamy mix rather than milk with starch foods - don't ask ...) I've dreamed of having something similar over the years, but consoled myself with the fact that while it would never happen and just think how well I feel now I don't eat wheat. (Well apart from the odd touch of vertigo and which certainly isn't a side effect of eating wheat!)

I really didn't think it could be possible, but what the hell, I gave them a go.

Heaven ...

Now I know its been ages since I had real Weetabix so I couldn't say that they're just the same, but I don't care! They're actually just the job and 2 weeks later (24 biscuits later to be precise) I can't wait to buy another box. They're crispy, tasty, quick (which is a rare occurence with the way I eat nowadays, having to make pretty much everything from scratch) and what' more I feel full afterwards.

Breakfast heaven re-created indeed. Just have to hope I can find them on the shelves in Tesco again! :)

New toys normally raise a smile ...

But nope ... I'm really rubbish at being ill. I've lost pretty much a whole week with this labyrinthine thing - now happily shortened to 'vertigo' by a different doctor who sent me home with a flea in my ear for having tried to work from my bed rather than simply taking it easy as I was told to in the first place ... Thoroughly chastised I finally turned off the laptop on Thursday!

I'm feeling much better now, but boy have I been fed up. I haven't even been up to enjoying new toys - until today that is! I got 2 new toys this week (phone and camera) and am only just getting stuck into the first one now.

My new phone is lovely, and I'm typing this post on it using its lovely qwerty keyboard whilst sitting in a pub, sipping a rather nice NZ sauvignon blanc, waiting for my date. Its lovely - the phone I mean (pub's ok too). I'm all synced up on both the home laptop and the work one, I've got Magical Trevor installed as my ring tone and I'm about to install the lovely Pocket Breeze for WM5. Hopefully my mini SD card will arrive on Monday; 1 gig, complete with usb card reader for #30 - can you believe that price? Memory has really come down since I last bought normal SD storage! Anyway, once I get that I can get my MP3s on it and I'll be ready to rumble!

BTW, I think I'm sat in people's usual seats ... Getting daggers looks at the moment. Tough, I was here first and I'm entitled to space as much as the next person - just because I'm on my own just at the moment.

Anyway, I digress ... The phone is lovely, and I'm sure the camera will be too. I have no idea what I'm talking about with cameras, but I hope I've got a reasonable buy... It’s a 6MP camera with zoom of some description - 3 x optical and 2 x digital though at the moment I'm not entirely sure what that means... I got is because it promised to be a good "point and shoot" option, but there still seem to be a lot of settings to work through and understand even for someone supposedly non-technophobe like me.

Ah well, once I've set up the phone exactly the way I want it I'll turn my attention to the camera beyond setting the clock which I did manage to achieve fairly simply! Stuff like flash levels, saturation, contrast, focussing, exposure etc will have to wait until they have my full attention ... Took a couple of pictures of my feet whilst lying in bed (been in bed all week and its sooooo boring ...) which looked sharp, colourful and generally OK without doing anything complicated, so hopefully it won't be too difficult to pick up and it will really be my Peru point and shoot!

Ugh ...

I’m really not very good at being ill … But ill I am … But, that’s the thing, I don’t feel ill. As long as I stay lying down. I feel great (if not VERY tired) lying down, it’s the sitting up, moving around thing that makes me not well. It started on Sunday morning and the most irritating thing is that I didn’t get to go walking, I had great plans this weekend – lets hope I’m back on form next weekend instead … I woke up with a headache (which had been there the day before too), so made to get up and grab some painkillers again (all I had was some Feminax but in spite of their ineffectiveness I still figured I’d give them a go). Well, I sat up and everything went “whoosh”. So I lay down again. Much better down there … I kept trying, but nope – “whoosh” and falling over was the result everytime. BBW brought me loads of food and water, helped me shuffle to the loo and set up the TV in my bedroom so I didn’t have to move anywhere. I watched so much rubbish on the TV its unreal – I was almost enjoying it by the end of the day which was when I knew I had to turn it off …

Today was a bit better, I’ve shuffled about pathetically and worked from home lying on the bed with the laptop propped up on my tummy and knees. I finally had a visit from a Doctor (the surgery had suggested I walk to an appointment, but I explained that it was all I could manage to make it to the flippin’ loo), he confirmed my self diagnosis of a Labyrintine Viral infection which explained my desperate tiredness and the falling over thing.

The prescription was Stemetil which, having looked it up,blocks a variety of receptors in the brain, particularly dopamine receptors to stop them becoming over-stimulated, thereby helping to control psychotic illness. (!!!) They are also used to control symptoms such as nausea and dizziness which are caused by inner ear disorders. (Phew!)

So, I’m going to take it easy (in between doing some work from bed – I’m too damn busy to be ill!), drink lots of fluids and wait it out. Apparently it could be gone tomorrow, or it may still be here in a week or two weeks … If its still here in a week, I have to get the doctor back. Fingers crossed not eh …?

Bite the bullet

OK, so I said I wasn't intimidated by the Prince 2 mob, and I'm not; but I've realised that its time I at least studied the methodology so a) I can really recognise a client that is using it, and in some instances I suspect simply implementing it badly; b) maybe I can use some elements of it by way kicking arse at work - I know what the problems are in my parlance, but maybe if I use a few bits of Prince 2 terminology on them they might actually sit up and listen and c) it'll stand me in better stead to get another bloomin' job ...

So, I've been doing a bit of research on line and have found some free stuff I can use and some books which I'm hoping to pursuade work to buy - whilst they are "investors in people", I know it doesn't stretch to letting me do a course and get the qualification ... I guess the book will have to do for the time being.

I did it in time, I just never posted it!

I have been blogging the past few weeks, but just didn’t get round to posting them ... A bit like the birthday cards I always remember to buy, write, address and stamp and then carry around in my handbag for weeks after they should have been posted. I apologise now to all of you who have, over the years, received dogeared looking birthday cards several days after the event … Anyway, the posts below are decidely un-dogeared, but carried around in my handbag for too long nonetheless!

Spend, spend, spend …

I’ve now got most of my walking clothes. I've got 1 final pair of trousers on order (there was only one pair of extra small trousers in the shop, and whilst I’m doing very well at planning my “packing light” I really can’t go away with only one pair of trousers! I’ve also got my “base layer” on order – again, they needed to order in some small ones.

It’s all lovely feeling stuff – a far cry from the tweed plus fours my Mum made me for my Duke of Edinburgh’s award 25 years ago and a long way from my old Damart thermals …

But, thank goodness for The North Face sale! Its an expensive old business and I haven’t bought any new shoes this summer, so I’m tring to get my kick from the trekking stuff! Vapour wick, UPV 40 protection, quick drying etc. Its all so much more exciting than 3 ½ “ heeled black supple leather ankle boots … If I keep saying it, it’ll be true!

First the boots, then the bags …

Well, I’ve bought my rucksacks. I’m very pleased, though it was a tough old decision which required external input – the casting vote delivered by my Mum. After all as Dad said when I phoned and said I didn’t mind who I spoke to (he always assumes I’ve rung to speak to Mum ... well – best speak to Mum, she’s good at making people’s minds up for them.

What to do? I wanted 2 bags. One was my “day sack”, this is the one I’ll be carrying myself on the trip so I want something comfy, hardwearing, unobtrusive, with an integrated rain cover and preferably something that wasn’t going to make my back saturated in the way that my £10 from Halford’s effort has been doing all summer …

The other one is the big rucksack which needs to have all my gear in that I need for the trail. This one I won’t be carrying in Peru, but will be carried by the Porters (I hadn’t realised this to begin with and have been busy doing stuff at the gym to try and make myself better equipped to carry a big rucksack. Doh!) This also needed to be comfy, unobtrusive, have a rain cover and be none sweat inducing in the back department!

So, I had an interesting session in a hiking shop where I tried on lots of rucksacks – had a wee lesson in how to get it on and off without falling over etc and ended up trying to decide whether to go for the “girlie option” or the “real hiker” option. This was according to the very helpful man in the shop … Girlie option = good bag, very comfortable now, but won’t last well. Real Hiker option = good bag, comfortable now but will get more comfortable with more wearing and very very durable …

Obviously there’s a cost implication, so Mum being the final arbiter advised to just spend the flippin’ money on the good quality durable option and just to make sure I get out there travelling! So, that’s what I did.